As summer winds down, we’re taking a moment to reflect on finding balance and savoring life’s simple joys, beyond the demands of work and technology.
We’re taking a step back from the usual tech-focused discussions to explore a theme that often gets sidelined: the importance of slowing down and appreciating the small, meaningful moments in life. As summer winds down, it’s an ideal time to reassess what success truly means—not just in the context of career milestones, but in how we balance work with personal fulfillment. Success isn’t solely about professional achievements; it’s about finding joy in the present and embracing the moments that make life truly worthwhile.
In today’s five-minute reflection, we delve into the idea of balance, considering how to align our drive for success with the need for personal well-being. The relentless pace of technological advancements can make it easy to lose sight of what matters most. However, real success often comes from knowing when to step back, take a deep breath, and appreciate the simple, fleeting moments that life offers. This episode is a reminder to redefine success in a way that includes not just career accomplishments, but also the everyday joys and connections that enrich our lives.
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- How can you redefine success to include not just professional achievements, but also the irreplaceable moments of joy and connection in your life?
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Podcast Transcript
(00:03):
This is Five-Minute Friday in which I’m Enjoying Summer 2024.
(00:19):
Welcome back to The Super Data Science Podcast. I’m your host, Jon Krohn. This week, I’m enjoying the tail end of the northern-hemisphere summer by spending time with my family. As such, for the first time in a very long time, today’s five-minute Friday episode will be no longer than five minutes… because I’m not making the time this week to do any research.
Welcome back to The Super Data Science Podcast. I’m your host, Jon Krohn. This week, I’m enjoying the tail end of the northern-hemisphere summer by spending time with my family. As such, for the first time in a very long time, today’s five-minute Friday episode will be no longer than five minutes… because I’m not making the time this week to do any research.
(00:38):
There are tremendously exciting updates in data science and machine learning happening at a faster and faster pace all the time, with potentially even artificial superintelligence being realized in the coming years and transforming all of society beyond human recognition.
There are tremendously exciting updates in data science and machine learning happening at a faster and faster pace all the time, with potentially even artificial superintelligence being realized in the coming years and transforming all of society beyond human recognition.
(00:51):
It is exciting indeed. But work and technology aren’t everything. In the thumbnail graphic for this podcast, it lists “Machine Learning”, “AI” and “Success”. When I selected that final item, “Success”, four years ago, I was thinking only of career success, as in equipping you, the audience, with practical tips — both directly related to technical careers, but also more broadly to professional success and productivity as well.
It is exciting indeed. But work and technology aren’t everything. In the thumbnail graphic for this podcast, it lists “Machine Learning”, “AI” and “Success”. When I selected that final item, “Success”, four years ago, I was thinking only of career success, as in equipping you, the audience, with practical tips — both directly related to technical careers, but also more broadly to professional success and productivity as well.
(01:17):
There’s a voice from deep down in my psyche, however, that has become increasingly prominent in recent years and that prominence has accelerated in recent months. The voice conveys something so trite and so cliché that I was able to largely ignore it for the first two decades of my adult life, but it’s inescapable and it is impactful: Life is short and it is precious.
There’s a voice from deep down in my psyche, however, that has become increasingly prominent in recent years and that prominence has accelerated in recent months. The voice conveys something so trite and so cliché that I was able to largely ignore it for the first two decades of my adult life, but it’s inescapable and it is impactful: Life is short and it is precious.
(01:40):
All things leave us. If not, then eventually we will leave them. Each breath is a gift, each sunny day, each rainy day. Success — I increasingly am able to not just realize, but also allow to actually change my behavior — is not just about accumulating wealth or working on exciting projects, it’s also about knowing when to take your foot off the pedal and appreciate the breaths, the days, the loved ones in your life. There’s an infinite amount of wealth and work out there that you could attain; you need a bit of both to meet your needs and be happy, but being consumed by wealth and work is a proven path away from happiness.
All things leave us. If not, then eventually we will leave them. Each breath is a gift, each sunny day, each rainy day. Success — I increasingly am able to not just realize, but also allow to actually change my behavior — is not just about accumulating wealth or working on exciting projects, it’s also about knowing when to take your foot off the pedal and appreciate the breaths, the days, the loved ones in your life. There’s an infinite amount of wealth and work out there that you could attain; you need a bit of both to meet your needs and be happy, but being consumed by wealth and work is a proven path away from happiness.
(02:19):
So, whether your summer is coming to an end or not, you may not even be in the northern-hemisphere, but I hope you are appreciating the sweet, precious and wonderful gift of this day. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Hug someone. Smile. Be complimentary. Tell a loved one that you love them. I know all too well that it’s not always easy to feel this, but you are special: The odds that you would ever exist are infinitesimally small and, yet… here you are. In a vast universe of almost entirely emptiness, you were born and you were born at a time where humans enjoy a quality of life far superior to essentially every living thing in known history. And you have the great privilege of enjoying today: Unfathomable billions of years came before us and billions of years lie ahead; in almost all of those billions of years, you don’t exist but today, this special day, the unique and inimitable “you” is here.
So, whether your summer is coming to an end or not, you may not even be in the northern-hemisphere, but I hope you are appreciating the sweet, precious and wonderful gift of this day. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Hug someone. Smile. Be complimentary. Tell a loved one that you love them. I know all too well that it’s not always easy to feel this, but you are special: The odds that you would ever exist are infinitesimally small and, yet… here you are. In a vast universe of almost entirely emptiness, you were born and you were born at a time where humans enjoy a quality of life far superior to essentially every living thing in known history. And you have the great privilege of enjoying today: Unfathomable billions of years came before us and billions of years lie ahead; in almost all of those billions of years, you don’t exist but today, this special day, the unique and inimitable “you” is here.
(03:39):
All right, that’s it for today’s episode. If you came here looking for the usual updates on data science, machine learning or AI, refer back to literally any other episode from this year so far. We’ll be back to that usual programming with our very next episode. Until next time, keep on rockin’ it out there and I’m looking forward to enjoying another round of the Super Data Science podcast with you very soon.
All right, that’s it for today’s episode. If you came here looking for the usual updates on data science, machine learning or AI, refer back to literally any other episode from this year so far. We’ll be back to that usual programming with our very next episode. Until next time, keep on rockin’ it out there and I’m looking forward to enjoying another round of the Super Data Science podcast with you very soon.
